AWBC – Association of Women’s Business Centers
The AWBC – Association of Women’s Business Centers Board meeting in Washington Dc is bringing the different Directors to discuss the 3 Pillars of Support the centers need:
- Pillar 1 – Advocacy
- Pillar 2 – Universal Standardization Across the WBC community
- Pillar 3 – Training and Mentorship Support for WBC Programs
I am a member of the board and attended the Board meeting, which includes a visit to the House of Representatives and the Senate. The meetings will be with Representative Doris Matsui, Nancy Pelosi, Salud Carbajal, Jason Crow, French Hill, Jimmy Gomez, Russ Fulcher and Senator Jim Risch, Ben Cardin. The delegation will also have a meeting with the Honorable Isabelle Casillas Guzman, Administrator for SBA at her office.
The Women’s Business Centers are a critical component of the SBA’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. WBCs were created to assist small businesses primarily owned by women, many of whom are socially and economically disadvantaged.The WBC program funds more than 130 non profits organizations that provide advising and training services, many provide multilingual services. In 2020, the WBC program in the US increased by 22 percent and advised and trained more than 82,000 entrepreneurs and helped start and sustainover 30,000 small businesses.
In 34 years the WBCs have not seen any changes and now thanks to Representative Sharice Davids (C-KS) and Representative Claudia Tenney (R-NY) H.R. 6441 called The WBCs Improvement Act will reauthorize and strengthen the WBC program.
Ruth Garcia-Corrales
NEW-WBC, Program Director
